Legal Descriptions Civil Engineering and Architecture

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1 Legal DescriptionsCivil Engineering and ArchitectureUnit 4 – Lesson 4.1 – Commercial Building Design ProblemLegal Descriptions"The small landholders are the most precious part of a state." -Thomas JeffersonProject Lead The Way, Inc.Copyright 2010

3 Legal Description In United States: Metes and BoundsLegal DescriptionsCivil Engineering and ArchitectureUnit 4 – Lesson 4.1 – Commercial Building Design ProblemLegal DescriptionIn United States:Metes and BoundsOriginal 13 states and HI, KY, ME,TN,TX, VA, WVRectangular Survey SystemRemaining 30 statesLot and BlockUsed in conjunction with either of the other two systemsWhen the US was colonized, land was described using the accepted English system of metes and bounds. Metes and bounds descriptions consist of a closed loop of distances and angles that describe the property boundaries. This system is used in the original thirteen colonies (now states) and a few other states.A more uniform rectangular system was suggested by Thomas Jefferson in 1784 and was adopted by the United States in This system is based on grids established throughout the states using the system.The lot and block system is generally used to describe the subdivision of a larger parcel of land which has already been described using either metes and bounds or the rectangular survey system.Project Lead The Way, Inc.Copyright 2010

4 Legal DescriptionsCivil Engineering and ArchitectureUnit 4 – Lesson 4.1 – Commercial Building Design ProblemMetes and BoundsA system of land description that identifies a property by describing the shape and boundary dimensions of a unit of land based on its edge distances and bearing angles from a defined starting point.When the US was colonized, land was described using the accepted English system of metes and bounds. Metes and bounds descriptions consist of a closed loop of distances and angles that describe the property boundaries. However early metes and bounds descriptions often included non-permanent landmarks such as trees, streams, and rocks. This practice resulted in frequent property disputes.Project Lead The Way, Inc.Copyright 2010

5 Legal DescriptionsCivil Engineering and ArchitectureUnit 4 – Lesson 4.1 – Commercial Building Design ProblemMetes and BoundsMete = boundary described by a distance and direction between property cornersNorth 30º West a distance of 567 ftBound = boundary that is described less accurately“Along the stone wall at the edge of Isaac Porcher’s property”Point of Beginning (POB) = a property corner from which the description originates; the starting pointProject Lead The Way, Inc.Copyright 2010

6 Legal DescriptionsCivil Engineering and ArchitectureUnit 4 – Lesson 4.1 – Commercial Building Design ProblemMetes and Bounds“From the POB proceed N 67° 35’ E along said right of way line of State Road No.1 a distance of 120 ft.”Lines are described with respect to natural or artificial monuments and baselines.Line length is measured along a level plane.Directions are described using bearing angles with respect to the previous line.The red text is a partial example of a metes and bounds description.Project Lead The Way, Inc.Copyright 2010

8 Legal DescriptionsCivil Engineering and ArchitectureUnit 4 – Lesson 4.1 – Commercial Building Design ProblemBearingsThe deviation measured in degrees, minutes, and seconds from a known line or directionN25° 35’ 12”ENorth 25 degrees 35 minutes and 12 seconds eastS22° 35’WSouth 22 degrees 35 minutes westAngle measure1 degree = 60 minutes1 minute = 60 secondsA bearing is the deviation from a know line. Here is an example of a bearing [click]. How would you read this bearing? [click] [Give students a few seconds to read the bearing, then click]Angles are generally measured in degrees, minutes and seconds [click][at end of slide] How many seconds in a degree? 1 degree * (60 minutes/degree)(60 seconds/minute) = 3600 seconds/degreeProject Lead The Way, Inc.Copyright 2010

9 N 25°35’ E N S E W 25° 35' Legal DescriptionsCivil Engineering and ArchitectureUnit 4 – Lesson 4.1 – Commercial Building Design ProblemN 25°35’ ENSEW25° 35'From the initial point of the property line, determine the direction indicated by the first letter in the bearing designation (click). In this case N means north. Then turn the indicated angle (click) toward the direction indicated by the last letter (click), east, which is counterclockwise when viewed from above.Project Lead The Way, Inc.Copyright 2010

11 Metes and Bounds ExampleLegal DescriptionsCivil Engineering and ArchitectureUnit 4 – Lesson 4.1 – Commercial Building Design ProblemMetes and Bounds Example“From the POB proceed N 67° 35’ E along said right of way line of State Road No.1 a distance of 120 ft.”NSEWWe will now lay out some property lines.Starting from the Point of Beginning, lay out the direction of the property line using the bearing (click).Measure and mark the length of the line from the POB along the bearing line (click).The end of this property line then becomes the initial point of the next property line (click).67° 35'120 ftPOBProject Lead The Way, Inc.Copyright 2010

12 Metes and Bounds “…thence N 12° 45’ W a distance of 67 ft.” N 12° 45'Legal DescriptionsCivil Engineering and ArchitectureUnit 4 – Lesson 4.1 – Commercial Building Design ProblemMetes and Bounds“…thence N 12° 45’ W a distance of 67 ft.”N12° 45'67 ftWEStarting from the end of the previous line, lay out the direction of the next property line using the bearing (click).Measure and mark the length of the line from the POB along the bearing line (click).The end of this property line then becomes the initial point of the next property line (click).N 67° 35' E120'SPOBProject Lead The Way, Inc.Copyright 2010

14 Legal DescriptionsCivil Engineering and ArchitectureUnit 4 – Lesson 4.1 – Commercial Building Design ProblemRectangular SurveyThomas JeffersonDesigned for the organization, division, and sale of government-owned frontier landsAs you can imagine, slight errors in a distance or bearing could result in overlapping property descriptions. In addition, many early metes and bounds descriptions were based on non-permanent landmarks such as trees, streams, and rocks. This procedure resulted in frequent property disputes.Thomas Jefferson suggested a more uniform and orderly method for the division and sale of government-owned land. The new system has come to be called the rectangular survey system.Project Lead The Way, Inc.Copyright 2010

15 Meridian and Base LinesLegal DescriptionsCivil Engineering and ArchitectureUnit 4 – Lesson 4.1 – Commercial Building Design ProblemMeridian and Base LinesPrincipal MeridianThe rectangular survey system is based on a series of north-south lines referred to as principal meridians. Each principal meridian has a corresponding east-west base line.Base LineProject Lead The Way, Inc.Copyright 2010

18 Range Lines 6 miles (TYP) Legal DescriptionsCivil Engineering and ArchitectureUnit 4 – Lesson 4.1 – Commercial Building Design ProblemRange Lines6 miles(TYP)Originating from each intersection of a principal meridian and its baseline, the land is divided into small areas with range lines which run north-south (click) and are spaced six miles apart.Project Lead The Way, Inc.Copyright 2010

20 Townships T2N R2W T2N R2W T2N R1E T2N R2E T1N R2W T1N R1W T1N R1E T1NLegal DescriptionsCivil Engineering and ArchitectureUnit 4 – Lesson 4.1 – Commercial Building Design ProblemTownshipsT2NR2WT2NR2WT2NR1ET2NR2ET1NR2WT1NR1WT1NR1ET1NR2ET1SR2WT1SR1WT1SR1ET1SR2EThe location of a township is indicated using coordinates that originate at the intersection of the base line and the principal meridian.For instance the township designated as Township 1 North, Range 1 West is in the first row township to the north of the baseline and first column of townships west of the principal meridian (click).The township designated as Township 1 South, Range 2 East is located by counting one township to the south of the baseline and two townships to the east of the principal meridian (click).T2SR2WT2SR1WT2SR1ET2SR2EProject Lead The Way, Inc.Copyright 2010

21 Each Township = 36 SectionsLegal DescriptionsCivil Engineering and ArchitectureUnit 4 – Lesson 4.1 – Commercial Building Design ProblemEach Township = 36 SectionsEach township [click] is further divided into 36 sections [click].The sections are always numbered beginning with section 1 in the northeast corner and counting to the west and then following a serpentine pattern to end with section 36 in the southeast corner of each township. [click]Project Lead The Way, Inc.Copyright 2010

22 Each Section Section = 1 square mile = 640 acresLegal DescriptionsCivil Engineering and ArchitectureUnit 4 – Lesson 4.1 – Commercial Building Design ProblemEach SectionSection = 1 square mile = 640 acres80 acresQuarter Section 160 acres40 acres20 acres[click] Remember that each township is 6 miles by 6 miles. Therefore, each section is one mile square.[click] Each section can then be divided into even smaller parcels by referring to quarters or halves of the section.[click] One square mile is equal to 640 acres. So half a section contains half of 640 acres, or 320 acres.[click] A quarter section contains one quarter of 640 acres, or 160 acres.[click] These partial sections can be further divided into smaller and smaller subdivisions such as quarter-quarter sections or half-quarter sections.Half Section 320 acresProject Lead The Way, Inc.Copyright 2010

23 Partial Sections Northwest 1/4 Legal DescriptionsCivil Engineering and ArchitectureUnit 4 – Lesson 4.1 – Commercial Building Design ProblemPartial SectionsNorthwest 1/4The partial sections are identified by their location within the section. For example the southeast ¼ of the northwest quarter (click) can be found by identifying the northwest quarter of the section (click) and then identifying the southeast quarter of that quarter (click).Project Lead The Way, Inc.Copyright 2010

24 Evidence of Rectangular SurveyLegal DescriptionsEvidence of Rectangular SurveyCivil Engineering and ArchitectureUnit 4 – Lesson 4.1 – Commercial Building Design ProblemSECTIONSatellite image of Kansas farmland showing the land divided into square parcels. Each smaller square is a quarter section; each larger square is a section (click). The circles are a result of central pivot irrigation in which water is fed from a well in the center of each field and is dispersed through a long pipe that rotates on wheels. The color of the crop circle depends on the type of plant.Do you think the designers of the irrigation system considered the size of a section and quarter section when sizing the system?Courtesy NASAProject Lead The Way, Inc.Copyright 2010

29 Locate the SubdivisionLegal DescriptionsCivil Engineering and ArchitectureUnit 4 – Lesson 4.1 – Commercial Building Design ProblemLocate the SubdivisionTownship 1 South, Range 1 East, 3rd PM, Section 25: S1/2 NW1/4S1/2 NW1/4To located the subdivision of the section[click], start from the last division listed in the description, NW ¼. Divide the section into quarters[click] and look at the NW quarter (upper left) [click].Divide the NW ¼ into halves horizontally. The description is the S ½ of this quarter[click]Project Lead The Way, Inc.Copyright 2010

30 Lot and Block Provides for the subdivision of a tract of landLegal DescriptionsCivil Engineering and ArchitectureUnit 4 – Lesson 4.1 – Commercial Building Design ProblemLot and BlockProvides for the subdivision of a tract of landDivided into blocks consisting of many individual lotsInspired the term subdivisionLegal description recorded as lot number and block number of the named subdivisionUsed with metes and bounds and rectangular survey descriptionsEventually it became necessary to devise a system of land description that was not restricted to the rectangular parcels that resulted from the rectangular system. The lot and block system provides for the subdivision of a tract of land into lots of various shapes and sizes.Project Lead The Way, Inc.Copyright 2010

31 Lot and Block Legal Descriptions Civil Engineering and ArchitectureUnit 4 – Lesson 4.1 – Commercial Building Design ProblemLot and BlockThis partial plat shows the use of a lot an block system in a neighborhood in Charleston, SC.Courtesy Register Mesne Conveyance, City of Charleston, SCProject Lead The Way, Inc.Copyright 2010